NEW YORK – Every now and then the Sixers give you a glimpse of what they hope the future looks like when all of their pieces are finally in place.
That’s what happened on Friday night in Brooklyn.
Michael Carter-Williams drove the lane and found Nerlens Noel for a two-handed flush with 3.2 seconds remaining to give the Sixers a 90-88 comeback win over the Nets (see Instant Replay).
The Sixers were down by as many as 13 in the game before rallying for the victory, which was their first in six tries at the Barclays Center and improved their record to 6-29.
"That was a great shot, not only for me but for this team," Noel said of his go-ahead dunk. "I think it is going to help us with momentum moving forward. For us to be in a close game like that on the road against a veteran team that doesn't make many mistakes, I think we did a great job capitalizing."
The Sixers were willing to live and die with their young duo on this night. They kept hammering the two-man game between Carter-Williams and Noel down the stretch.
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It worked just enough for the win.
"I knew I wanted to penetrate the defense and see if I could get a shot at the basket or a pull-up," Carter-Williams said. "Once I saw the defense closing in on me, Nerlens made a great play finding an open area.
"Most people will switch that," Sixers head coach Brett Brown said. "We had been working Nerlens in pick-and-roll the three previous possessions and came up empty. We changed that and brought Luc [Mbah a Moute] up and let Noel navigate on the baseline.
"We knew we wanted the last shot. We probably took it a second too early, but it worked out well. We got Nerlens, and Michael Carter-Williams did a heck of a job navigating that play as the game closed out."
Noel was full of energy from the opening tip. He finished with 12 points, five rebounds and a couple blocks.
Carter-Williams was glad to see his teammate throw the ball down with authority to seal the win.
"Tonight was probably the best I have seen him play. He had a hell of a game,” MCW said. “At the end of the game, I knew he was going to finish it because we have been talking to him about dunking in those situations and not settling for the lay-up. He is making strides with that. He finished with authority, and he also played well defensively."
Noel and Carter-Williams were just the ones to cap off the Sixers’ comeback. They had plenty of help.
The Sixers trailed by as many as eight during the fourth quarter, but they made 11 of 16 shots in the frame to storm back.
Robert Convington, who led all scorers with 20 points, stepped into a transition three-pointer with 3:14 remaining to pull the Sixers within one at 86-85. On the next possession, Tony Wroten blazed through the lane for lay-up while getting fouled to give the Sixers their first lead since 12-10 in the first quarter. He converted the old-fashioned three-point play and the Sixers never trailed again.
"Tony's basket, Rob's basket -- I think those shots helped our confidence down the stretch," Noel said. "We were going strong on the offensive side and getting stops on the defensive end. We were playing good basketball."
The Sixers really made their fourth-quarter push behind their defense. They held Brooklyn to 5 for 15 shooting and forced the Nets into six turnovers in the final 12 minutes.
"Defense, defense, defense," Wroten said of the difference between the third and fourth quarters. “Coach has been preaching defense since he got here. You have to play defense if you are going to be on the floor. We got three or four stops in a row."
The Sixers get right back to work on Saturday night when they return to the Wells Fargo Center to host the Indiana Pacers.